Legendary Retailer Fat Beats To Close NY, LA, Locations

Legendary New York record store/distributor Fat Beats has announced the closing of its two remaining retail locations in New York and Los Angeles.

Sources said that both stores will close in September, with the New York location shutting its doors on September 4th, while Los Angeles will follow on September 18th.

Both stores will host a series of sales and parties to celebrity the stores' 16-year-legacy selling Hip-Hop music.

“The closing of Fat Beats is just like one of my friends passing away. They promoted vinyl at its highest degree for the culture of good music and that makes it more difficult to say goodbye," DJ Premier said in a statement today (August 18th).

The company will continue to operate as an online retail store, while the company's owners plant to re-open a brick and mortar store at some point in the future.

“This is the start of a new era for Fat Beats. We’re adapting to meet the needs of our demographic by revamping and improving our existing systems," Fat Beats owner and President Joe Abajian added. "While our website, which stocks everything available in our retail stores, continues to do very well, we’re still exploring our options for alternate retail locations in the future. We’re proud of our legacy and will continue to re-invent ourselves. For now, we’ll see you online at FatBeats.com.”

Fat Beats will also continue to operate as a record label, with artists like Ill Bill, TruMaster & KRS-One, Black Milk and Sha Stimuli still on the roster.